Judging Lincoln Book

Judging Lincoln collects nine of the most insightful essays on the topic of the sixteenth president written by Frank J. Williams, chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and one of the nation’s leading authorities on Abraham Lincoln.

The Historian

Frank J. Williams wears several hats. Professionally, he is a distinguished lawyer and judge; he currently serves as chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. He is also an eminent Lincoln scholar, dedicated collector of Lincolniana, and energetic organizer of Lincoln conferences. Judging Lincoln is a collection of nine essays that Williams has written during the past quarter century. The book includes 47 illustrations from his marvelous collection.
While the topics of the essays differ, Judge Williams ties most of them to the influence of the discipline and rules that Lincoln learned as a lawyer. Williams reminds us that the law was a means to politics for Lincoln. The law provided Lincoln with the kind of broad background that enabled him to achieve his potential as a political leader. In the process of his growth, Lincoln blended "the traditional differences between the law and politics into a singular democratic vision" that he followed into the presidency (35). His twenty-four years as a lawyer-politician taught Lincoln valuable lessons that benefited him when he faced the unparalleled challenges of the Civil War. Lincoln''s acute sense of timing as president owed its origins to the fact that as a lawyer he learned when to act in behalf of his clients, a point that has escaped the attention of historians. Lincoln became a masterful juggler in handling cases as a lawyer while attending to political issues and campaigns, a trait that would later prove essential in as president. His long career as a lawyer-politician in the emerging West (today''s Midwest) also taught Lincoln about human nature and the hopeful purpose of democratic life. Williams admits that the problems Lincoln confronted as president differed from those as a lawyer. Still, "the incisive logic used in their solution [was] much the same" (54).
Judge Williams in his essay on civil liberties defends Lincoln''s controversial action in suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus during the early period of the war. From Lincoln''s perspective, this action was necessary to prevent secessionists from isolating Washington and taking Maryland out of the Union. Lincoln also made other far-reaching decisions and commitments at this time when Congress was not in session, but, Williams writes, he knew that he had the support of the majority of the lawmakers. Though some historians have claimed otherwise, "the verdict of history is that Lincoln''s use of power did not constitute abuse" (62).
The essays in this book also provide other important insights on Lincoln and the constitutional issues involved in the war. Williams'' account of the military arrest, trial, ,and sentencing of congressman Clement Vallandigham, the leading "Copperhead" critic of the war, followed by Lincoln''s action in the case, should be of interest to anyone interested in the issue of freedom of speech during wartime. In his famous Erastus Corning letter, Lincoln defended the suppression of Vallandigham on the grounds of the effects that such seditious speech had on the war effort. Williams concludes that Lincoln in matters of civil liberties bent "the Constitution within the framework of its intent without breaking it" (77). Lincoln''s purpose was to preserve the Constitution, not undermine it.

— William C. Harris